During annual gynecological exams, I often hear from my patients about vaginal health problems, and how they affect my patients’ quality of life. Itching, burning, dryness, painful urination, frequent urination, and painful intercourse are experienced by many postmenopausal women, as well as by premenopausal women in low estrogen states such as postpartum, breastfeeding, and breast cancer survivors.

Many times, these symptoms are embarrassing for a woman to talk about with other women, her husband, or even her doctor, but it is important to talk about them because there are effective treatments available. Today, I’d like to talk about one of the newest and most effective treatments for vaginal health, the hormone-free MonaLisa Touch.

Before the MonaLisa Touch, when patients came to me with vaginal health issues related to low estrogen, I felt like I had very few options to offer them:

Moisturizers and lubricants only worked with very mild vaginal symptoms;

Hormone replacement therapy (whether pill, cream, patch, and/or bioidentical versions of HRT) generally worked well for hot flashes, but not as well with vaginal symptoms;

Vaginal estrogen preparations (whether cream, pill, or ring) worked well in some cases, but they come with some potentially serious side effect risks, and they are contraindicated for many women with other health concerns (ex. history or risk for breast cancer, uterine cancer, or heart disease);

Even the newest estrogen-mimicking “angonist/antagonist” product on the market has shown to provide a similar benefit/risk profile as the actual estrogen-based treatments.

One of the most common things I would hear from patients in this situation was “I feel so bad for my husband!” Her intimate life was adversely impacted by vaginal symptoms, but the options available were either ineffective, or effective with risks for her own health. It was indeed a difficult situation to manage as a doctor, and my heart went out to my patients who suffered in this way.

That’s why I was very happy to learn about the MonaLisa Touch procedure as an alternative to the traditional estrogen or estrogen-like treatments currently available. So, how can a procedure possibly accomplish the same relief without raising estrogen levels or having estrogen-like actions in the body? The answer lies in the cutting edge technology of the MonaLisa Touch.

The MonaLisa Touch provides gentle laser energy to the vaginal wall that painlessly stimulates tissue to form new collagen and cells that produce moisture.

The vagina is restored to premenopausal thickness, and it again produces natural moisture that keeps the tissue soft, supple and healthy.

This leads to a dramatic improvement in vaginal dryness, itching, burning, urinary frequency, painful urination, and painful intercourse, without using hormones or increasing hormone levels in the body. It is completely safe for those who wish to avoid hormones as well as for those must avoid them for serious health reasons (including breast cancer survivors).

See the Proof Yourself!

These images show how the MonaLisa Touch restores vaginal tissue to youthful function, and they were the first thing that really caught my attention when I was learning about the procedure myself. The first image is a vaginal biopsy from an untreated postmenopausal woman:

The dark narrow reddish-purple band towards the top of the slide shows that the cells are not actively replicating themselves to maintain moisture and suppleness in the vaginal area.

The second image is from the same postmenopausal woman 8 weeks after her first MonaLisa touch treatment:

Notice the thicker, wavy purple layer, which indicates that this woman’s vaginal cells are once again replicating themselves and being restored to healthy vaginal tissue.

In order to fully appreciate the post-treatment slide, compare it to this third image, taken from a vaginal biopsy of a different, premenopausal woman:

Note the thick, wavy pink layer, how similar its pattern is to the postmenopausal, post-treatment slide, and how different it is from the pre-treatment, postmenopausal slide:

These images show that the MonaLisa Touch makes a real difference in improving vaginal health.

In addition, the surveys we have received from our own patients have proven to be consistent with the published studies. Results do differ from one patient to the next, but we are very happy to say that the MonaLisa Touch has proven safe and effective for our patients!

Our Patients Say...

“When Dr. Stigen spoke with me about the MonaLisa Touch, she was very informative and explained in terms that I could understand how this procedure could help me. I signed up that day for my three treatments, and let me tell you, it helped and it works!”

-Jodi

"After years of dealing with tablets, messy creams, and hormone therapies for constant dryness and pain, the MonaLisa Touch was a welcome solution to restore my quality of life. The procedure is painless, and while it didn’t relieve all my symptoms, it did significantly reduce them. "

-Mary

“The whole thing was over in about 5 minutes, and was painless. So I’m happy I didn’t bail on the 1st one because now my intimate life has returned to not needing lubricants. After each treatment I did have to wait about 3-4 weeks for the pain during intercourse to subside. Now I’m virtually pain free.”

-Cheryl

“MonaLisa Touch made a marked difference in how painful sex was post-menopause. Painful sex is now not an issue.”

-Vickie

How Many Treatments, and How Often?

For best results, the MonaLisa Touch is initially provided in 3-5 treatments, spaced 6-9 weeks apart.

Many patients only need 3 treatments, but in some cases (such as treatment of lichen sclerosus), a 4th and/or 5th treatment is also needed in the initial series.

After the initial series, follow-treatments are recommended every 6-12 months for optimal long-term relief of vaginal symptoms.

What makes Mystical Rose OB/GYN different?

We have an all-women front office (office manager, medical assistant, and Dr. Stigen).

Mystical Rose is a solo OB/GYN practice, so your care is always handled by Dr. Stigen.

Every patient receives time and personal care; our average office day consists of 10-15 patients.

Finally, Dr. Stigen’s approach to medicine is grounded in science, informed by faith, supportive of marriage, and able to serve all women.

What do I do next?

You can contact our office at 760-983-4024 to schedule a consultation, or you can set your first appointment online by clicking here. At the consultation, Dr. Stigen will discuss with you whether the MonaLisa Touch can help you find the relief you’re looking for, and if you're ready to move forward, you can receive your first treatment, too.

We are excited at Mystical Rose OB/GYN to be offering the MonaLisa Touch as a safe, effective and hormone-free treatment for vaginal health. God bless you!

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